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Lauryn Hill and Rohan Marley’s questionable parenting skills have been making waves across social media after their daughter, Selah Marley, publicly shared details about her traumatic childhood on Instagram Live.
Madamenoire captured shocking takeaways from the now-deleted post; one cited Selah describing Hill as frequently absent throughout her and her sibling’s childhood. When she was around, the singer would allegedly give severe spankings, either by belt or switch, comparable to “slavery sh*t.” She would also threaten the children with more lashings if they didn’t “fix” their faces.
“She would spank us to no avail,” Selah said. “She was just very angry. So, so, so, so, so, so angry. She was literally not easy to talk to and then half the time we didn’t live with her. I lived with my grandparents half the time… It’s crazy, I’m playing this trauma back in my head as I speak to you.”
She explained that her mom would order one of the kids to get a belt and then hold both hands up so they were hanging, “as she beat us. Literally, just like that.”
Selah continued to profile her mother as a celebrity under constant public scrutiny who privately struggled to co-parent with her father, entrepreneur Rohan Marley. The bickering between the two left no peace within their household. The disciplines ended after she turned 10, alluding to Hill possibly discovering growth and peace in her own life. “She’s actually changed,” she confessed. “I’m really proud of her.”
Rohan caught some smoke, too. She described him as an absentee parent who left a void so deep she often sought boyfriends to fill them.
“I came to the conclusion of how much of my life I’ve f*cked up and how much of me is f*cked up simply because my dad just wasn’t around. And there’s just a void where there should be a person. And it’s honestly really hard. Like it’s so hard day in and day out. And I feel like this is common in the Black community—not even that I just feel like the things I’ve done because of the trauma, like the deep trauma,” the 21-year-old model shared.
Selah admits to possibly developing a split personality disorder due to his absence and has unsuccessfully sought therapy to work through the pain.
Rohan released a statement in response to his daughter’s criticism apologizing for his lack of presence in her life.
Via Hollywoodlife:
“I love her very much and do apologize for any contributions I may have added by arguing in front of her as a child,” he continued in the statement. “I’ve grown as a man, a spiritual being and a father. I am constantly growing and will teach my children to always take the higher road in any disagreements. I will be there for her no matter how many hours, days, months or years it will take. I will be the best Dad that I can be. One Love.”
